SoftBank added 649,500 net users last month to boost its
total to 35.9 million, according to a statement from the
company. That compares with 515,500 new subscribers for Docomo
and 494,600 for KDDI, the carriers said in separate statements.

Competition for new subscribers in Japan is intensifying
amid a declining population and after Docomo in September became
the last of the carriers to begin offering Apple Inc. iPhones.
Last month, Docomo Chief Financial Officer Kazuto Tsubouchi said
discounts may threaten its full-year forecast as it seeks to
lure subscribers from rivals.

“SoftBank has been successful with its promotion
campaigns,” said Satoru Kikuchi, an analyst at SMBC Nikko
Securities Inc. in Tokyo. “The company enhanced cash-back
promotions in the first half of March, and this has boosted the
number of their new users.”

SoftBank offered rewards worth of as much as 92,280 yen
($896) when new iPhone users from other carriers signed a three-year contract, according to its website.

Quarterly Data

February through early April is the biggest business season
for Japanese wireless operators as parents typically buy a
smartphone for children who pass entrance exams for high schools
or universities.

The three carriers are shifting practice this month and
will begin disclosing phone subscriber figures on a quarterly
basis. The Telecommunications Carrier Association will publish
the figures quarterly as the nation’s mobile-phone market
matures, according to a statement on its website today.

Docomo, the largest Japanese carrier by number of
subscribers with 63.1 million, added more users than rivals in
December for the first time in two years. KDDI has 40.5 million,
the company said today.

Japan’s population declined by 244,000 in 2013, a seventh
straight year of decline and the largest drop on record,
according to the Health Ministry.